In today's society, beverages of many types are consumed by persons at an increasing rate. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are consumed at breakfast, lunch, dinner and at various times throughout the day. Beverages are consumed for many reasons, such as nourishment, thirst, societal, replacement of minerals and/or vitamins, etc.
Many beverages primarily consist of a single liquid phase, such as wine, beer, milk, etc. However, other beverages may contain more than one liquid phase, such as mixed drinks, coffee with cream and sugar, etc. In either case, the beverage should be mixed (i.e., stirred) at least occasionally for purposes of taste and enjoyment. This objective to mix is most evident after a multi-phase beverage is placed or poured into a container, such as a glass or cup, to prevent or at least minimize the separation of the beverage into component phases (or layers).
Additionally, many current beverage containers are one-piece, which means that the entire container may have to be destroyed if a crack develops in the container or if the container is broken. This, of course, leads to a certain amount of unrecoverable waste.
While accessories for beverage containers are currently available, such as straws, stirrers and swizzle sticks, the beverage-consuming public continues to look for new accessories which will enhance their enjoyment and consumption of beverages, especially multi-phase beverages.
Therefore, there is a need for new and effective accessory straws.